Legal & General Group Plc Has $5.42 Million Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,078 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $5,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,999,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,757,000 after purchasing an additional 12,912 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,179,000 after buying an additional 51,720 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,560,000 after purchasing an additional 38,388 shares during the period. Bruni J V & Co. Co. lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 200,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 182,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of PAG opened at $151.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.13. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.03. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. On average, research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAG shares. StockNews.com cut Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc, a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. It operates dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors.